When Love Conquers All
by ilikepotnoodles
Summary: Set after series 3, Morgana is being kept prisoner by Morgeusue, Merlin has been meeting up with her for the past eight months. Rubbish summary but anything else will give the plot away, better than it sounds.
1. Chapter 1

Morgana walked quietly through the woods, her long raven hair flowing behind her; she was going to meet Merlin, the only one in Camelot that hadn't turned his back on her, the only one who believed she wasn't an evil witch as the rest of them did. People that used to be her friends, Arthur, Gwen, even her father, even though he lied to her and scared her, she had had hurt them and she knew they had no right to forgive her for everything she had done.

She had been meeting him most nights for almost eight months now, slipping past Morgueuse in the process, that was the hard part, she never took her eyes off of her, and they were either always training or plotting to destroy Camelot. Morgana didn't want to be evil, all she wanted was to live in Camelot in peace, to have everyone who once loved her back again, but as she knew too well, that wasn't going to happen, not as long as Morgueuse alive, until her sister died, she was a prisoner.

It all started when Morgueuse had kidnapped her, then a year after when she had returned to Camelot while Morgueuse was manipulating her, forcing her to betray the ones she loved, nothing that happened had been her doing, Morgueuse had put her under a spell, she was controlling her, but her sister was weak now, but still strong enough to keep her captive, her only happiness now was meeting with Merlin, the one she loved more than anything, more than her own life.

As she came close to the clearing, she realised Merlin had not yet arrived, that was strange he always came, and early too. The cold autumn air was making her shiver, 'I hope he's not too long' she thought.

The minutes went past slowly, Morgana realised she had been waiting almost an hour now, praying he hadn't abandoned her. She was trying to reassure herself that he just got caught up with something at the castle, or maybe he forgot… No, that's stupid he would never forget. Maybe he didn't want to come. She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind but it was no use.

Sighing, she gave up and started to walk back home, or what she must now call home, Cendred's old castle, she was so glad her sister's lover was dead, he was cruel to her, made her believe she was nothing.

Then her thoughts drifted to what she would have to tell Merlin when she next saw him, she was terrified, although she knew he had a kind heart and that he would want to be with her no matter what and tell her everything was going to be okay. She was just scared of his reaction; she didn't want his loyalties to be divided, any more than they already were.


	2. Chapter 2

Gaius turned in his sleep as Merlin's bedroom door creaked.

"Damn" whispered Merlin "Please don't wake up"

He crept to the other side of the room, thankfully without waking his guardian. He walked down the halls of the castle; it was around midnight so no one was around. He walked as silently as possible while trying to avoid the guards, not that he was doing anything wrong – at least to their knowledge- but it was easier if no one knew he was around.

As he reached the courtyard, he didn't notice a figure in one of the windows; he carried on walking, oblivious to the person following him. He had reached the woods when someone behind him stepped on a twig. The snap caused him to turn around.

He tensed "Who's there?" Sounding more confident than he actually was.

"Well well, what are we doing out of bed this time of night?"

"Gwaine" Merlin relaxed, "Why the hell did you follow me?" He said starting to sound annoyed.

"Dunno really, couldn't sleep, and you had a shifty look about you, thought it might be interesting," his friend replied, "Anyway why are you out here?"

"Just going for a walk" He answered trying to sound casual.

"Alright then, whatever you say, mind if I come with you, unless there's a reason you don't want me to?"

Merlin frowned, "maybe we should just go back to the castle?"

"Why? Do you not like my company?" He said trying to sound hurt.

"For goodness sake Gwaine I'm tired, I want to go to bed"

Gwaine put his hands up in defeat, and they turned back to the castle, "You're a rubbish liar you know Merlin," But Merlin didn't hear him, he was too busy thinking of Morgana, would she be angry at him for not turning up?, Would she think he had abandoned her?

He would go tomorrow night, and hope that she would realise there was a good reason he wasn't there. He was also annoyed at himself for letting Gwaine see him, for the past two months no one had, and now Gwaine was suspicious so he would be on the lookout of Merlin meaning he wouldn't get a chance to be with Morgana.

"What do you think Merlin?" He suddenly realised he was being spoken too.

"Err… About what" He replied.

"Honestly have you been listening to a word I've said? Do you think Uther is ever going to recover after what she did to him?"

"Who Morgana?"

"Yes, who do you think I mean"

"I don't know, I hope so, after everything that's happened, if Uther dies I don't know what it will do to Arthur, he's already lost so much." He answered truthfully.

"You're very loyal to Arthur, unlike a certain someone we know," he said the last part bitterly. Merlin didn't say anything, he loved Morgana and it hurt when someone said anything against her, and that's all most people would say about here these days, he wished they knew the truth, then she could come back to Camelot and they could be happy together-

"G-night Merlin, see you tomorrow," Merlin snapped out of his daydream, and realised they were back at the castle.

"Oh yeah, night Gwaine," he said as he walked back to Gaius' chambers.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where have you been Morgana," it was almost dawn when she had returned to Morgueuse, she must have awoken early.

"I just went for a walk to get some fresh air, I couldn't sleep," she lied casually hoping she wouldn't realise she was lying.

"Is the bracelet I gave you no longer working?" She questioned not believing her.

"No, it is," She said hesitantly, "But I didn't have a nightmare, I just wasn't tired I suppose."

"You can't lie to me Morgana, I know where you were, who you've been seeing" Morgueuse was starting to get angry. "After all I've done for you, you would betray me, I am your sister, your flesh and blood but you would rather be in Camelot after all they've done to you, cast you aside without a moment's thought, tried to hunt you down like an animal."

"No, I swear I haven't. I don't know what you're talking about" she kept the lie going even though she knew it was hopeless.

"Don't play dumb with me Morgana," She roared, then tried to calm herself down, knowing she wasn't well. "Arthur's manservant, Merlin, you've been seeing him, I sent someone to follow you Morgana, not just tonight, but most nights for weeks, how could you" She looked disgusted then, as if he was a piece of dirt. "How long has it been going on?"

She didn't reply, as if she was waiting for something to happen to stop her from having to answer her sister's questions.

"How long Morgana?" She asked about to lose her temper again. But still she had no answer. "Tell me now" She screeched.

"Eight months" She blurted out quickly, then immediately regretted it.

"Morgueuse nodded slowly, "then you can spend eight months in the dungeon to make up for the time you've betrayed me,"

"No" She screamed at her sister as two of Morgueuse's men dragged her away, "You can't do this to me Morgueuse, let me go."

But it was no use struggling, they were too strong for her and the magical binds Morgueuse kept on her always to prevent her from using her magic against her didn't help. She decided she would just have to wait, just until Morgueuse came to see her, then she would have to beg for forgiveness, she wasn't sorry of course, but she would have to pretend to be, to keep her sister from finding out her secret. Morgana knew at all costs, that must never happen.


	4. Chapter 4

"Rise and shine sleepy head" Merlin beamed as he opened the curtains in Arthur's chambers the next morning.

Arthur, as usual, stayed exactly where he was and made no sign of getting up any time soon.

"Come on stop being lazy do I have to drag you out of bed again" he said

Arthur slowly dragged himself out of bed whist giving his manservant an evil look, "Why are you so cheery this morning?"

"Dunno, everyone's been unhappy and depressed recently so I thought I'd brighten up the mood" he replied with his signature goofy grin on his face.

Arthur walked over to the table where Merlin had put his breakfast down and looked out the window, he sighed then just said, "stop it its extremely irritating"

Merlin frowned again, "Err… I'd better get started on my chores,"

He was about to walk out when his master stopped him.

"Merlin"

"Yes" he replied

"Polish my armour for this afternoon, I've got training and I don't want to turn up looking like a mess, just because you do doesn't mean everyone else has too"

"Yes, sir" he said sarcastically as he walked out the room, he was the only one who could make sir sound like an insult. "Stupid prat" he whispered, just quietly enough so the prince wouldn't her him.

As soon as Merlin left the room, his grin instantly faded and his thoughts went straight back to Morgana, he would go tonight to their usual meeting place and hoped she turned up. To tell the truth he was worried about her, about what she might do, he couldn't bear to live with himself if she did something stupid, he would always blame himself.

Merlin was pulled out of his thoughts as he accidently ran into Gwen and she dropped everything she had been carrying.

He instantly bent down to help her pick it up, "Sorry Gwen, I wasn't looking where I was going" he said sheepishly.

She had retrieved the towels she had been holding and simply smiled at her friend, "it's alright Merlin," then studied his face, "are you alright, you look upset,"

"Me, no im fine," he paused for a minute then gave a small smile, "just Arthur being a prat as usual. Honestly Gwen I don't know what you see in him."

"Merlin" called Percival from the hall.

"Bye Gwen, I'll see you later," He turned around and walked to Percival and Lancelot.

"We've just seen Gaius, he's looking for you, you better go see what he wants," said Lancelot when Merlin was close enough so he wouldn't have to shout.

"Okay, thanks" he said back to his friend, the knights spent a lot of time together now, he knew they were all still his friends and it was stupid but sometimes he felt left out.

As Merlin walked through the door to his guardian's chambers, he saw Gaius reading, he didn't seem to notice Merlin was there and when he spoke it made the old man jump.

"Lancelot and Percival said you wanted to see me" he said to his mentor, the man was like a father to him, Merlin had only met his real father once, when the great dragon had been set free and started attacking Camelot, unfortunately they had been attacked by bandits and he died so he never really got to know him.

"Yes," he replied as he looked back down to his book, "I need you to clean the leech tank"

"Gaius, I don't have time, I haven't even got started on my usual chores and I have to clean Arthur's armour too, please, can't I just do it tomorrow" Merlin sounded really tired, he wasn't just faking to get out of cleaning the tank- although he did really hate it- he hadn't slept last night, he couldn't stop thinking of Morgana, last time he had seen her he could tell something was bothering her, he needed to know what, it might be really important.

"Well, you'd better get started then" the old man said back, he was thoroughly enjoying someone else having to do the work while he relaxed, plus it was a punishment, Merlin was always getting himself into trouble.

Merlin just sighed and walked over to the table where the tank was kept, 'my life is a living nightmare' he thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I know this chapters short but im building up to the next couple of Merlin ones.**

The next week went past very slowly for Merlin, the days would drag on, each one felt as though it lasted a lifetime. He was still not sleeping, because of all the time he spent in the clearing in the woods hoping Morgana would show up, he waited until Gaius fell fast asleep, then would sneak quietly out of his chambers, he knew another exit from the castle, it was much longer and was very creepy, if it wasn't for Morgana he wouldn't use it at all, but it meant no one would follow him, but all his time in the woods was wasted, she never showed.

After a few days, he decided to walk in the direction Morgana always walked after they met, but he had no idea where he was going, he couldn't sense anything, that was unusual for him, he could always sense something before, but when it came to Morgana, nothing.

Merlin knew there was every chance she didn't want to see him ever again. But he had to know, he knew something was wrong, Morgana would have come, even if it was to tell him she didn't want to be with him. He had a bad feeling about the whole situation.

Lately, he had been in a bad mood, every time someone asked him what was wrong though, he just told them there was nothing bothering him. His friends had started avoiding him, and you couldn't blame them, he would just snap at someone for nothing. Arthur had been getting really tired of his mood, their usual banter was gone and instead he would just shout at his manservant for everything he did. Merlin knew it was his own fault, but he couldn't help it, he had no idea where the woman he loved was, if something had happened to her, or simply if she never wanted to talk to him again.

Then one morning Arthur and the knights had decided to go on a hunt. Merlin hated hunts; he didn't see how killing defenceless animals could be called fun. But as the prince's servant he was required to go. It wasn't just the question of the hunt, he had to be alone with Arthur and the knights all day and with the mood he was in he knew there would probably be an argument that he would end up getting in trouble for.

Merlin was late, as usual, but instead of walking quickly so Arthur wouldn't shout at him, he decided he couldn't be bothered and just walked at his own pace going through what he would say to Morgana next time he saw her- if he saw her. He would tell her how sorry he was and how much he'd missed her, then he'd asked why she hadn't come. But mostly, he wanted to tell her he loved her.

Merlin was in the courtyard now, the rest of them were already on their horses and were just waiting for him.

"Merlin" Arthur shouted, "Hurry up you are so useless."

"Shut up you prat im coming" he grumbled as he climbed onto his horse.


	6. Chapter 6

Morgana had been in her sister's dungeon for over a week now. She had been thinking about everything, but mostly about Merlin, he would be going to the clearing where they met and would be waiting for her there.

She also thought of their night's together, one in particular. They had been meeting up for about six months when it first happened. They both knew they shouldn't but they couldn't help themselves anymore. It always made her smile, even though she knew what had become because of it.

"_I should be getting back to Camelot Morgana, it will be daylight soon." He said to her as they lay on the floor, looking up at the stars. _

_She sighed, "I know, I should leave too."_

_He looked at her for a moment, as if he was taking her in. He really thought she was beautiful. She smiled at this thought. Then he leaned in close and whispered in her ear._

"_I don't want to though, I want to stay here with you forever" His voice melted her heart._

_Then, slowly, he kissed her, gently at first but then it started to get more passionate. Her tongue started to explore his mouth as he climbed on top of her. She pulled of his neckerchief first and broke off the kiss to give him a cheeky smile._

_He frowned, "I really do have to get back Morgana, Gaius will be wondering where I am."_

"_I don't want to think about Gaius right now Merlin" she said as she pulled her lover back on top of her._

_Merlin couldn't help but laugh at this but it was cut off by Morgana's kiss once more._

_She pulled his shirt off then and he started to fumble with the corset on the back off her dress. He had given up on the idea of going back to the castle. Once he had got her dress off he couldn't help but stare in awe at the beautiful woman in front of him, he loved her more than anything, he would give up his life for her._

_Afterward, they just lay there, in silence at first, but then Morgana broke it._

_She looked up at him "Do you still want to go back to Camelot now?" she said with a smile on her face._

"_Never" he replied as he kissed her again._

_Neither of them had noticed the figure standing there watching them throughout._

Morgana hadn't thought about the consequences of her actions, she had been too wrapped up in the moment. She didn't regret it, although she probably should.

Morgana snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps outside her cell and then Morgueuse's voice. She sat up as the door opened and her half-sister walked through.

"Hello Morgana"


	7. Chapter 7

Everyone was in an awkward silence as they rode through the woods; it was plain to see everyone felt uncomfortable. Gwaine was trying to lighten up the mood but no-one was listening to anything he was saying. It wasn't anything important anyway, just about how he was going to take Merlin to the tavern when they returned because he was sick of him being grumpy. Merlin just ignored him, he couldn't be bothered to argue with the knight he considered to be one of his best friends, besides he knew Gwaine was just trying to help- in his own way.

Arthur, who was riding in font, decided they had gone far enough. He gave his knights the signal and they all dismounted their horses. Merlin, as usual, had to carry practically everything. He walked a bit behind everyone else as he grumbled something about Arthur calling him lazy when he couldn't even carry his own stupid stuff. Lancelot laughed quietly at his friend as he walked silently through the woods.

He deliberately slowed down his pace so he could walk next to Merlin.

"Hey Merlin" he said quietly, sounding a bit unsure.

"Hi" he replied.

"Do you want me to help you with some of that" he offered trying to help his friend.

"No thanks" he said back.

Lancelot frowned, normally you could never get Merlin to stop talking, now all he could get from the man he thought to be his best friend was one or two word answers. To be honest, Lancelot was getting sick of Merlin's mood, it was bringing everyone down and he would tell no-one what was wrong. He understood that it wasn't his business, but his friend was upset and he just wanted to know why so he could try to help him.

"Alright im getting sick of this now Merlin what is your problem?" He said with a hint of anger to his voice. He had said it louder than he had meant too causing the prince and his knights to turn around and look at them both.

Merlin glared back at him and started to walk faster to get away from him. "None of your business" was all he said.

The knights all continued to look at him and then at each other wondering if they should leave him to stew in his own misery or attempt to talk to him, even though they knew how it would turn out.

"You know we're your friends Merlin, we are just trying to help" Elyan said to him softly.

Merlin sighed, "Im sorry, I know- "Merlin was cut off by Arthur shushing him.

They all paused then looked to where Arthur was. There was a stag grazing by the entrance of a clearing. Suddenly Merlin realised where he was, this was where he and Morgana met up. He felt a twinge of sadness go through him but Arthur gave them the signal and they all crept into their positions.

Arthur, as the prince, got the first shot at the stag; he drew his crossbow and hit it in the neck. It fell to the ground almost instantly. Arthur had a pleased look on his face while Merlin gave him the evils. He really hated hunting, especially when he saw how much joy they all got when they killed.

A couple of hours later, it was dark and they had made camp for the night. Merlin had made and served their dinner, luckily saving some for himself, the knights were very greedy and if he didn't set some aside for himself he didn't get any at all.

They were settling down for the night. Some of the knights had already fallen asleep, Merlin was just pretending to be though, he could hear Leon and Gwaine talking about him.

"He's really starting to get on my nerves you know," whispered Leon thinking Merlin was asleep.

"He's getting on everyone's nerves" replied Gwaine knowing who his friend was referring too.

"I hope he doesn't keep it up, it's ruining the hunt for us all" he said back looking over at Merlin.

"That and the fact there's no ale." Gwaine laughed.

"For goodness sake Gwaine, you and your ale, I think it's time to admit you have a problem," he said back, not in a horrible way of course, everyone found Gwaine hilarious, apart from his ability to annoy absolutely everyone without even trying.

"No" Then he turned serious again. "Right before Arthur spotted the stag he apologized and was about to say what was bothering him, and then he just turned all moody again."

The two knights finished talking and just went to sleep. Merlin opened his eyes, he didn't want to be awful to his friends, but they wouldn't understand- no-one would. Until he saw Morgana, he was going to be miserable. It's not like he could tell them, Morgana was an enemy of Camelot, an evil witch, at least that what they all thought.

Merlin slowly drifted off.

_Morgana screamed in pain as she sat knelt in a cold dark cell. Morgueuse casting dark spells over her. _

"_Gefuhe raspue friehd" Morgueuse's eyes glowed gold as she stood above her sister causing her immense pain. She looked weak, weaker than Merlin had ever seen her as she knelt by her sister's feet._

"_You have brought this upon yourself Morgana," she said almost shouting so she could be heard above the woman's screams, "this is just a taster of the pain you have to come. For what you have done to me, you have made me look a fool."_

_Morgueuse was doing everything apart from killing the defenceless girl who was crying in agony._

Suddenly Merlin awoke with a start, his breathing was heavy, how could he have just seen that? He wasn't a seer. Then it dawned on him_, _Morgana was trying to contact him, it must have taken a lot of effort from her, in his dream he saw the binds preventing her from using her magic.

He had to save her, but this dream wasn't enough, he still had no idea where she was being kept.


	8. Author's Note

**Sorry, I have no idea where I am going with this, don't know how they are going to meet or how Morgana is getting out the dungeon.**

**If you send me ideas I could probably have another chapter up by this evening**

**Thank you xxx**

**Mike: I never really thought about it like that, just making it up as I go along. I guess it's because she feels betrayed and shes mad at her. She feels like she saved Morgana from Camelot and Uther then she goes and falls in love with Merlin. But mostly because Morgeuse is just a bit twisted really.**


	9. Chapter 8

**I just want to say I know where this story is going now, thank you to ****Gemmaaaaa, lozzabluebell and morganaforever for your ideas. Now I know what's going to happen I'll update as quick as possible.**

Merlin thought if he went to sleep again he would have another dream, then maybe he could find out more about where Morgana was being kept. He felt so helpless knowing the woman he loved was in pain and there was nothing he could do. He was trying so hard to get to sleep which obviously meant he couldn't. He just tried to clear his mind in the end, and hope to drift off.

It was almost dawn now, Merlin had lay awake all night, there was almost tears running down in frustration. He knew there was no chance of him falling asleep now, so he got up slowly and decided to take a walk and try to think things through.

Merlin had no idea where he was going, after about fifteen minutes he came across a lake and knelt down next to it. The water was cold as he splashed his face, he didn't realise he was so tired. How annoying it was to be so tired and yet not able to sleep, especially when it was so important that he did.

He felt angry as he looked at his refection in the water, angry and useless. He knew Morgana needed him and he couldn't help her. Merlin stopped as he heard a twig snap behind him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump" the man behind him apologized.

"Lancelot, what are you doing here?" Merlin said back quietly.

"Following you, what are you doing here?" He then looked properly at his friend's face. "Merlin have you been crying." He looked genuinely worried.

"No" he said as he quickly turned back around to face the lake.

"What's wrong, Merlin." Lancelot said as he took a step towards him.

But Merlin didn't reply to him at first, he just kept looking into the horizon.

"I am your friend you know, you can tell me anything" he said softly.

"You wouldn't understand" then he looked to the ground, "no-one would."

Lancelot thought for a moment, not wanting to push him. He was finally getting him to talk, he didn't want to blow it and have Merlin angry and lonely again.

Merlin thought for a moment, should he tell Lancelot, he considered him to be one of his closest friends, and he knew he wouldn't judge him. He already knew about his magic, and that was his biggest secret, life or death. Surely he could trust Lancelot.

He took a deep breath. "It's about Morgana, it's not how it seems, Morgueuse made her do all those things, none of it was her fault." He spoke quietly and slowly, still not 100% sure if he should be telling Lancelot all this. He looked over at him for a minute, then seeing the knight's face, he decided to carry on. "Morgueuse is keeping her prisoner Lancelot, I have to find her."

Lancelot studied Merlin's face for a moment, then he realised. "You're in love with her aren't you."

Merlin couldn't say anything, he knew if he did then he would burst into tears. So he just nodded.

**Im going to add two maybe three chapters tommorow, depends how much homework I have to do. Until then, please review. x**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry I haven't updated, been really busy with my textiles coursework, I'll put up a few chapters this weekend though.**

Lancelot stood there in shock once Merlin was finished telling him, he couldn't believe it. It wasn't that he was angry at him for anything; he just wished Merlin could have told him sooner.

He had told him of the first time he spoke to Morgana after Arthur had brought her back to Camelot after the year she spent with Morgueuse, how scared she had been; that she couldn't control what she did, right up until the last time he had seen her in the woods two nights before she didn't show up to their next meeting. Then he had told Lancelot of his dream, how Morgana had contacted him.

They stood in silence for what felt like hours before Lancelot could bring himself to speak. He hadn't said a word while Merlin had spoken; he just listened to everything he had to say without asking him any questions.

"I'll help you find her" he said quietly to Merlin. "If you want me too," he said quickly when Merlin looked up at him from where he had been looking the whole time he was talking, not wanting to see his friend's face in case he was angry with him.

"Thank-you Lancelot, you're a good friend."

"Find who?" Both of them turned to see Gwaine stood behind them with a confused look on his face.

"It doesn't matter," Lancelot said quickly, he had seen how hard it was for Merlin to tell him and he knew Merlin wouldn't want him to tell Gwaine, if he was going to tell him then he would want to do it himself, when he was ready too.

Gwaine turned to Merlin "Come on, I won't tell anyone."

"It's nothing Gwaine." Merlin said as him and Lancelot started to walk back to the camp leaving Gwaine stood there on his own.

"I'll probably of forgotten by tomorrow." He called back to them.

"Thanks for not telling him," Merlin said gratefully to his friend later that night, they hadn't spoken since, they had been too close to the rest of the knights and Gwaine had been bugging them, he really didn't get the message they weren't going to tell him.

"I didn't think you'd want me too" he said back.

There was a pause before Lancelot spoke again, "What are we going to do about Morgana?"

"I don't know, I have absolutely no idea where she is."

"You said in your dream she was in a dungeon." Lancelot suddenly realised.

"Yeah" Merlin said back, not knowing where he was going with his.

"So chances are she's in a castle." He explained.

"Cendred's castle" Merlin exclaimed. "Why didn't I realise this before" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I am such an idiot" he groaned.

"We'll go tonight, when everyone else is asleep."

Merlin nodded, he didn't want to get his hopes up, she might not even be there, or worse, they're too late- he didn't know if Morgueuse was going to kill Morgana, but he didn't want to wait too long to find out.

**I know its short – again, I am going to start making the chapters longer from now on. Please review :)**


	11. Chapter 10

Merlin lay awake waiting to make sure it was safe to leave so that no-one would wake up as he and Lancelot left to rescue Morgana. He could tell Percival and Leon were asleep by their snoring, Merlin had never noticed before but it really was quite annoying. He wasn't sure about anyone else. He sighed; it felt like he had been waiting for hours, why wouldn't they just get to sleep.

He wished that he could just tell them, like he had with Lancelot, but he was different. Lancelot already knew about his magic and so it was much easier knowing he already accepted him for what he was. To tell the truth he was scared of losing his friends even though he knew how stupid that was, but most of all, he didn't know whether Arthur would accept him.

Later, once Merlin was sure everyone was asleep; he got up slowly and saw Lancelot doing the same. They both crept as quietly as they could to the lake, once they were there they would be able to talk properly. They didn't really have a plan, as they hadn't had much time to formulate one, what with everyone always to close for them to be able to talk alone or Merlin running around after Arthur.

As they stood by the lake, where only hours ago Merlin had told Lancelot his second biggest secret (his first was him being a warlock, obviously), Merlin was surprised how light it was, the moon was extremely bright tonight.

"I'd say Cendred's old castle is just a few hours walk from here." Merlin said.

"What about when they wake up and find us missing?" Lancelot asked.

"I hadn't thought of that," Merlin frowned then thought for a moment, "they are heading back to Camelot tomorrow, as long as we beat them back, we could just say one of us was sick so we went back" Merlin suggested.

"Ok." Lancelot hesitated, not liking having to lie to the prince. "They shouldn't be back until tomorrow evening, maybe even longer if they go looking for us."

"Should we leave a note?"

"Probably, and we must take the horses too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ten minutes later, they had written a note for the knights and were back at the lake with their horses just about to set off when a voice stopped them.

"Where are you two going?" They turned around to see Leon, Elyan, Gwaine and Percival staring at them.

"Camelot." Lancelot said quickly thinking it would be better if he stuck to the lie. "Merlin's not feeling well so we're going home."

"We left you a note." Merlin said trying to sound ill.

The knights, clearly not believing them hesitated for a moment before Elyan spoke up. "You do know Camelot's that way" pointing to the opposite direction Lancelot and Merlin were going.

"What's going on" Gwaine said annoyed, "first you won't tell me what your little conversation earlier was about and now you're sneaking off in the middle of the night and lying to us."

"What conversation earlier?" Leon asked confused.

Lancelot and Merlin, still on their horses shared a look before Merlin dismounted then slowly walked over to where the knights, who still had no clue what was going on, were stood and took a deep breath.

"This is going to be a long story." Merlin said realising he had to tell the truth.

Behind him, Lancelot also dismounted his horse and walked over behind Merlin.

"It started about eight months ago, right when" he was cut off by Percival.

"Morgana took over Camelot."

Merlin frowned but then continued with his story. "Yeah" he said quietly. "It- It wasn't her fault, Morgueuse was controlling her".

"Who Morgana?" Gwaine said still not understanding.

"Yes, everything she did was because of Morgueuse, she wasn't to blame for any of it." Merlin carried on before he was interrupted again, "Let me explain. You have to believe me it wasn't her."

"Why are you so bothered, even if what you are saying is true, she still went to Morgueuse in the first place, she betrayed Camelot."

"No she didn't" Merlin shouting, shocking the knights. Lancelot was about to intervene when Percival figured it out.

"You and Morgana." He said slowly and softly, finding it hard to believe his own words.

"What?" Elyan said looking at Percival then along with the rest of them staring at Merlin in disbelief.

Merlin nodded, and then stared at the ground, not wanting to see their reactions. He was angry with himself for telling them, he was sure they would hate him. But he also felt relived, like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest.

Just as the knights started to absorb the information Lancelot, who had been stood quietly behind them, ready to jump in and help Merlin if he needed to spoke. "Morgueuse is keeping Morgana prisoner, we think at Cendred's old castle. We're going to rescue her."

"Count me in" said Gwaine who hadn't spoken for a while, much to everyone's surprise.

"Me too" said Elyan.

"And me" came from Percival next to him.

"What about Arthur, we can't all just leave him here." Leon said.

"You won't have too." Came a voice from behind them. They all turned round to see Arthur stood behind them.


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry it took me so long to upload, it hasn't been letting me log on for the past couple days. Enjoy!**

Merlin defiantly hadn't expected to see Arthur standing there, what would he do? Would he be mad at Merlin? Hate him even. Or would he stop them from going, obviously he was going to, no matter what Arthur might say or do, but it would be much easier to leave now and he didn't know how much time he might have.

"Arthur" Merlin said trying to explain.

"Don't say anything. I heard everything you said" He replied tonelessly. Then took a step closer to Merlin. "Do you swear what you are telling me is true."

"Yes, of course."

Arthur nodded "Right then, we should probably get going." He said, this time to everyone.

Merlin stood there, mouth open; he couldn't believe it, this defiantly hadn't been what he had expected, he thought Arthur would never forgive him.

-x- -x- -x-

Arthur couldn't think straight as they rode to save Morgana. If what Merlin was saying was true then all this time she had been innocent, but although, how could she be innocent if she had magic? He didn't understand, he never had, how the woman he had thought of as a sister since they were only children could be evil. He was angry at Merlin for keeping this from him, for not telling him sooner, maybe if he had then Morgana could have come back months ago and he would have her back. He wasn't doing this for Merlin, he wasn't even sure he could trust him anymore, but then again there was no reason to lie. But the main reason was if there was a chance in a million that all this was true, then he had to get her back.

These thoughts continued for hours before he realised they had reached Cendred's castle.

They dismounted their horses by the edge of the forest so they were still hidden from view from anyone in the castle. None of them knew how many men Morgueuse had; most of them had been killed after Merlin emptied the blood from the cup of life. But she could have obtained many more in the past months.

"Right, let's go over the plan again." Arthur said taking charge as usual- Morgana was his sister after all. The others gathered round making sure they all knew exactly what they were supposed to do. "I, Leon and Percival will go first, making sure the coast is clear then Elyan and Gwaine will take out the warning bell. Meanwhile, Merlin and Lancelot will go to the dungeons to rescue Morgana. Then you two" he said pointing at Lancelot and Merlin, "give us the signal and we all meet at the entrance of the dungeons, from there we will make it back here. Everyone clear on the plan?"

Everyone nodded and began to leave for the entrance of the tunnels where they were going to surprise their enemy. Hopefully they would be able to get in and out without drawing too much attention, especially if the warning bell was going to be taken out, unlike the last time.

Merlin was relived he was paired with Lancelot, that way if they saw Morgueuse then he could use his magic, although everyone had been okay about his relationship with Morgana, he didn't want to tell them about his magic just yet, that would be too much for one day.

The tunnels, which weren't very tall or wide so everyone had to go on their hands and knees one behind the other, were eerily quiet, and very dark.

"Ouch!" Gwaine had crawled into a wall which was strange because there had been about four people in front of him managing to pass that particular obstacle which wasn't too had to see.

Normally Merlin would laugh at his friend being an idiot, but he was too concerned about whether this was going to work, whether they were too late or if he and Lancelot had been wrong and she wasn't here at all.

"Shhh, Arthur's call came from the front of the line, they had reached the end of the tunnel and unfortunately there was guards by it, to make it even worse the tunnel had a gate on, it was unlocked but was very old and was in need of a good oil, meaning the squeak would draw attention to them, if they weren't in the tunnel then they could take them easily but it was too difficult to get out of, so by the time they managed to, the guards would have them surrounded.

"What do we do now" Leon who was behind Arthur asked.

It turned out they didn't need to do anything because a barrel at the other side of the room fell over completely on its own – as if by magic…

Arthur didn't have time to wonder about that strange spell of luck, he was out of the tunnels before the guards could unsheathe their swords, quickly followed by everyone else.

"Right, time to put the plan into action."

"Wait, I have an idea" Gwaine said.

About five minutes later Gwaine and Elyan had changed into the two guards uniforms. "Now it will be much easier to take the warning bell out, no one will suspect us." Gwaine said proudly to everyone.

"Ok, now we can go."

**I know its not very good, I had trouble writing it. Review please :)**


	13. Chapter 12

**Sorry its short and late, haven't been in the writing mood lately, or I just decided to do it purposely to annoy you. Its the first one.**

Morgana was exhausted, having not slept in days, she couldn't, she was too scared, it was her job to protect the life growing inside her, her baby.

She remembered the day she realised she was in fact pregnant, for the past few days beforehand she had suspected it but had to be completely sure, then the hardest thing to do was keep it from Morgueuse. She had known she was pregnant for a few months now and was just beginning to show, no doubt when he so called sister found out she would be angrier then she had ever been at her.

The night she had been going to meet Merlin was when she had planned to tell him, there had been opportunities before, but she never managed to get the words out, for he had a life in Camelot, good friends and of course Gaius, she couldn't ask him to give that up for her, more than he had been already. Then there was his destiny, he couldn't be distracted from that. For a moment she had thought about not telling him and just leaving, but that wouldn't be fair on him or the baby.

But now it seemed that she would never be able to and he would never know about or get to see his child or worse, that the child would never get to live.

X-x-X-x

"Follow my lead and keep quiet." Arthur said just before him, Leon and Percival left the room where they had entered the castle. As soon as they walked up the stairs he realised this may be easier than he first thought, there were no guards in sight, unless they already knew they were here and were waiting for them. Arthur shook the thought from his head and tried to focus on the task. He gave the signal to Percival telling Gwaine and Elyan it was okay to go and take out the warning bell, who passed it on to Leon.

Then, the two men walked up the stairs to and passed Arthur who, along with Percival and Leon went back into the vault-like room to wait with Lancelot and Leon. They were potentially against a whole army and sorcerers, as much as he wanted to rescue Morgana as quickly as possible, until Gwaine and Elyan got back they couldn't go forward with the next part of the plan.

No-one had spoken since they left, which had only been a few minutes but felt much longer for every one sitting in the small, cramped room. Arthur was sitting alone in a corner while the others sat on various boxes and the some keeping watch. Merlin sat alone anxiously, he was trying not to get his hopes up, but they had come so far he couldn't help it.

After what felt like an eternity they finally entered the room looking exhausted.

"So much for the disguises Gwaine," Elyan panted.

"Why what happened?" Arthur stood up to face him, "that idiot" he indicated to Gwaine, "blew our cover."

"So they know we're here?"

"No, we took anyone we came across but they'll find the bodies soon enough."

"Did you manage to get to the bell?" Merlin asked still sitting on the floor behind them.

"We're not entirely useless you know Merlin." Gwaine smiled.

"Come on, continue with the plan," Arthur interrupted extremely annoyed at Gwaine.

Everyone stood up to leave, Merlin was so nervous now, not scared of the danger ahead, scared that it wouldn't work or they would be too late.

**So Morgana's pregnant... so what do you think, good, bad, absolute rubbish. Tell me please**


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